Text 14967, 86 rader
Skriven 2014-07-20 23:20:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
Ärende: fried chicken 689
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A tale of three chickens, actually more

The Radisson just happens to be on a stretch of road
that has three fried chicken chain restaurants within
strolling distance; so I conceived the plan of comparing
them. At first I thought to do them in one go, but even
if I had Lilli helping me that would be a bit extreme,
so I had three separate meals. Each consisted of 2 thighs
and a soft drink.

In order of taste and value for the money:

Church's ($3.53) - enormous pieces in a batter that had
been liquid until recently, so a flat homogeneous
texture. Crust was somewhat underseasoned with maybe
zero herbs and spices but pretty heavily salted. Not
previously frozen, so extremely juicy and the bone marrow
was good. The chicken flavor was quite good. Result: not
the best chicken but by far the best value.

Popeye's (5.18) - medium-size pieces in an extremely
crunchy crust, quite salty. I ordered the regular so as
to level the playing field: never again - it's way too
bland for someone accustomed to the spicy. The chicken was
decent but (I've never had this problem at Popeye's before)
overcooked, not very juicy and with a firm texture. The
bone marrow was shrivelly and almost nonexistent. Decent
price, okay food.

KFC (6.94) - the nicest staff of the lot (though in deepest
South Carolina everyone is at least somewhat polite) but
the worst deal. Huge pieces, but it turns out there's
relatively little chicken under all that crust, which was
very crunchy and very salty, the secret blend of herbs
and spices being about the same as at Church's, only more
so. I would perhaps have been better off accepting a side
of wallpaper-paste mashed potatoes to cut the salt. Did
I say salt? Also not previously frozen but perhaps a bit
longtime chilled, as the bones were discolored, and the
marrow had a vaguely fishy taste. Highway robbery.

I'd heard great things about Gullah Cuisine, so we went
there instead of a BBQ place. I had my fish fix, about
which more later, and Lilli had the $12.95 chicken dinner,
a rather puny breast and a very puny wing, a garden salad
that looked like airplane food, and a scant cup of candied
yams (they were out of regular mashed potatoes). The chicken
was on the dry side and the coating was on the wet side, an
effect hard to achieve were one trying for it. Also quite
salty. I suppose the local style has evolved to account for
days of 90-95F (feels like 100, crow the weather Websites)
and the consequent loss of sodium. I would place this
chicken down between KFC and Giant Food, below.

A few days later I have had the chance to compare the chicken
box from Giant Food (two breast halves, two thighs, two wings,
two drums, $8). It's almost identical to KFC, only a bit
stale. Also, the bones are heavily discolored, so I suspect
a fairly long stint in the freezer. Decent value but not
inspiring food.

Ayam goreng - Fried chicken, the Javanese way
Cat: Javanese, main, poultry
yield: 1 batch

1 1/2 ts salt
1 c water
1 c oil
chicken pieces

Cover chicken pieces with water and boil for 10-15 min.
Soak in salt water, as for tahu/tempe goreng. Deep
fry in hot oil.

American note: Javanese chickens are scrawny by American
standards, but have excellent flavor. Don't try this
recipe with bloated, tasteless supermarket chicken.
Chinese markets sell "Buddhist-style chicken" which
is one possibility. Western-style free-range chickens
are another.

Bp. Wakidi Dwijamartono and K. Emerson, Solo, Java, 1999

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